Modern Stern pinballs made since 2015 are far less durable than previously. The quality fell off a cliff! I've only seen 2 Big Lebowski pinball, they're decent BUT being a low production, boutique pinball and manufacturer, it's a concern about ongoing parts and support...how long will this company exist?

The entire lighting system was changed just to save them a few dollars in assembly time AND to create an new path to selling very high priced parts to owners.

Being informed before you buy is a very important part of the selection/decision process.

For many people that IS a wiser choice. Especially those who live in areas with no local technical support.

That's probably a better plan for alot of people. It costs alot of money just to buy one Pinball machine.

Perhaps not a 3 year warranty but certainly 1 or 2 years in home use. Commercially operated Pinballs around 90 days.

Glad it was helpful!

That's very wise, I suggest every buyer examine the facts and think very carefully about the value for money and maintenance costs before buying a new Stern pinball.

You're welcome, I'm glad they helped.

I can't answer that in a brief way that will be useful to people as we all have different tastes plus there is a huge variety in Pinball and games from different decades can't accurately be compared BUT, I'll answer with just a few titles among a great many good games from each era as follows. From the early mid 1970's Jacks Open, Jungle Princess, Aztec Odds and Evens. Late 70's to mid 1980's. Stellar Wars, Firepower, 8 Ball Deluxe, Paragon, BMX, Solar Fire, Black Hole, Elektra. Late 1980's, High Speed, Spirit, Rocky, Space Shuttle, Lights Camera Action, Simpsons, Earthshaker. 1990's, Surf N Safari, Terminator, Lethal Weapon 3, Starship Troopers, No Fear, Star Trek Next Gen. Stern was the only manufacturer from 2000 and since that time they have never made a truly great game but they have made some pretty good ones. South Park, Simpsons Pinball Party, Spiderman, The Walking Dead, Star Trek, Ghostbusters, Kiss, Deadpool although I don't recommend buying any of the last 3 as they are Stern Spike System games.

@@PinballExpert This was more than I expected, so I was grinning to read all these names. I’ve got coffee-table volumes on the history of pinball & so love listening to you break down these eras & their standouts. I enjoy your channel because you’re the furthest thing from a shill & like many others, you don’t blindly wet yourself over a new pin you bought as a shield against buyer’s remorse. You’ve been burned & you’re saving ME & others from the same. Thanks for this answer and I’ll continue watching! ✌️

Monopoly is a decent game and fairly well made. Don't touch Avengers, it's a Spike 2 game. These are low quality, far less reliable and money pits to repair. Be careful about any buying recent titles, they can be troublesome lemons that owners are trying to get rid of!

I'd take the monopoly over avengers since repairing the monopoly would be far more efficient and cost saving depending on the fault.

@@AceofSpades-6728 Thank you for the feedback! I’ve been getting the vapors over this decision. I’ve had others tell me the same but for slightly differing reasons. Your bothering to reply gives me hope for this community. 🤙✌️

@@PinballExpert Your opinion matters to me. So, thank you very much. I AM gonna get the Monopoly. The money I save allows for immediate color DMD upgrade & LED kit, too. 🤙 Hot tip: Americans, buy your color DMD’s from Andrew at Retrocity in Australia. 🇦🇺 I saved $200 buying there for my TSPP & it looks GREAT! 👍

That's a well considered analysis. The big issue with Stern is, they are ONLY interested in maximizing profits and sales. They're not remotely interested in actually making better systems or better products that will benefit owners.

​@PinballExpert thats all corporations ultimately though

Stern pinballs value for money, features and quality has fallen considerably since I did this review, in fact it's much lower than I expected.

They're getting worse. Here's just one example, a change to lower grade screws on Flipper assemblies have been breaking off. Unfortunately, my advice is, definitely don't buy a new Stern pinball.

what brands do you recommend for reliable home pinball machine?@@PinballExpert

I believe Jersey Jack still does the old sam system, at least from what I remember. Look at williams and bally games, though not new, are far more practical than stern machines.​@@GuitarsAndSynths

The controller board is only monitoring switches. Indeed it's so simple that 100$ FPGA device can be used as a direct replacement on wms systems. Stern are price gouging, it's as simple as that